Stochasticity Project: HiFi+LoFi Mixtape
Stone Brewing in Escondido, California, United States 🇺🇸
Strong Ale Series Out of Production|
Score
6.61
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A Blend of Fresh and Barrel-Aged Ales
A beer that pays homage to a centuries-old tradition of combining new beer with aged “stock ales.” Freshly brewed beers of the day often were very smoky and bitter tasting, and were blended with older beer that had mellowed with age to produce more drinkable libations. This modern brew showcases our brewers’ talents in blending a stock ale aged more than three months in oak foudres (large wooden fermentation vessels) with a fresh version of the same beer to create a perfect harmony spanning end to end on the taste spectrum.
Stone co-founder Greg Koch has hypothesized for years that brewing the same beer at two different alcohol levels and blending them would provide a different flavor profile than brewing the base beer to a specific alcohol target. And this is true. When compared with beers brewed to lower gravities, fermenting at a higher gravity with a higher resulting alcohol level causes a drastically different mix of esters and other flavor compounds provided by yeast fermentation. Proof comes via this beer, which follows a decidedly English track, using 100% English malts and hops a la traditional stock ales, which I learned a lot about while conducting research for my book "IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale." It was fun to be able to draw on this research as the inspiration for this beer.
A beer that pays homage to a centuries-old tradition of combining new beer with aged “stock ales.” Freshly brewed beers of the day often were very smoky and bitter tasting, and were blended with older beer that had mellowed with age to produce more drinkable libations. This modern brew showcases our brewers’ talents in blending a stock ale aged more than three months in oak foudres (large wooden fermentation vessels) with a fresh version of the same beer to create a perfect harmony spanning end to end on the taste spectrum.
Stone co-founder Greg Koch has hypothesized for years that brewing the same beer at two different alcohol levels and blending them would provide a different flavor profile than brewing the base beer to a specific alcohol target. And this is true. When compared with beers brewed to lower gravities, fermenting at a higher gravity with a higher resulting alcohol level causes a drastically different mix of esters and other flavor compounds provided by yeast fermentation. Proof comes via this beer, which follows a decidedly English track, using 100% English malts and hops a la traditional stock ales, which I learned a lot about while conducting research for my book "IPA: Brewing Techniques, Recipes and the Evolution of India Pale Ale." It was fun to be able to draw on this research as the inspiration for this beer.
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4.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Sampled from a 22 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark amber color with an enormous fluffy orange-tan head that lingered and left good lacing. The aroma was woody, cedar, perfume and fruity hops. The flavor was woody, cedar and perfume. Unfortunately long finish. Medium body. Not good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jul 2015
at 17:48
5.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Bottle from Cotteridge Wines; clear light copper pour with a frothy white head, aroma has fruits plus a hint of fortified wine, taste is stewed stoned fruit, a hint of vomit, some biscuit, robust malts, this beer deserved a 355ml not a bomber, it’d be a drain pour if it didn’t cost so much.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jul 2015
at 08:14
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bomber rated on paper up camping a couple nights ago. Aroma is skunky, earth, wood, pepper. Slightly hazy copper with a long-sustaining off-white head. Taste is an extremely interesting mixture of flavors--clove, oak, earth. Weird, no mention of clove or Christmas spices being used on the label, but it tastes like it. It reminds me of Anchor’s Our Special Ale. Dry and bitter. Nothing wrong with the palate. Interesting, but not at all what I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a dark and roasty beer.
Tried
on 13 Jul 2015
at 18:17
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
22 oz. bottle, pours a hazy golden orange with a small white head. Aroma is quite woody, with lots of oak and dry burnt malt. Flavour is along the same lines, with lots of oak upfront, with burnt bready malt in back. Not terribly complex but I'm enjoying the uniqueness of this. Burnt and woody. Solid.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Jul 2015
at 01:43
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Split a bottle 3 ways with friends. Poured a hazy copper color with a medium sized white foamy head. Aroma was lots of caramel notes, some light boozy barrel notes, oak. Some light sweet malts. Reminds me of an aged barleywine. Interesting, though a touch unremarkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 10 Jul 2015
at 10:39
7/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bomber from Bevmo, Bakersfield. Nose is light oaky vanilla, citrus, bubblegum, and golden raisins. Clear amber orange with a medium, lightly lacing beige head. Flavor is contrasting sweet and bitterness with white peppery and fruity notes.
Tried
on 07 Jul 2015
at 21:22
6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Keg at Bottle Shop Bermondsey - London. Pours clear burnt gold with s slight, creamy white head. The aroma holds bready malts, ripening fruits, some berries and grapes. Medium sweet flavor, a bit boozy, with more grape, grain husk bitterness, hay, grass, orange peel. Medium to full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Warming finish, bitter and slightly abrasive, with berry skins, grain, bread. Not very interesting, and not very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Jul 2015
at 06:26